Energy Newsbriefs Blog

This current awareness service is prepared by the WSU Energy Program Library with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy State Energy Program. This information is provided for energy professionals and interested members of the public to highlight recent energy-related news, articles, and reports that discuss energy efficiency, energy conservation, and renewable sources of energy in engineering and policy circles.

"Tesla Motors, the electric vehicle company throwing down a major challenge to the global motor industry, says it is now looking to become a front-runner in energy storage in a major new challenge to the traditional electric utility business model."

"Chemists and engineers at Oregon State University (OSU) have discovered a fascinating new way to take some of the atmospheric carbon dioxide that's causing the greenhouse effect and use it to make an advanced, high-value material for use in energy storage products."

"The California Independent System Operator (ISO), the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), and California Energy Commission (CEC) developed an energy storage roadmap that identifies policy, technology and process changes to address challenges faced by the storage sector."

"Flexible operating characteristics and versatility of services provided by pumped-storage hydropower technologies make them ideally suited to support large-scale integration of variable renewable resources and improve the reliability of power systems, a recent study concludes."

"A surge of energy is flowing into energy storage. Tesla Motors' Sept. 4 announcement that named Nevada the winner of a five-state competition to host its planned gigafactory added momentum to a market for which Lux Research LLC forecasts 8% compounded annual growth, to a global value of $50 billion, by 2020. Tesla's $4-billion plant outside Reno will produce batteries for the automotive market and the grid. According to market research firm IHS, the 2013 energy-storage installation of 340 MW will grow to 6,000 MW by 2017 and to more than 40,000 MW by 2022."

"Later this year, Snohomish County Public Utility District plans to deploy an innovative energy storage system that aims to transform the marketplace and how utilities manage electric grid operations. The PUD, and its principal partner 1Energy Systems, will install the Modular Energy Storage architecture (MESA) at multiple utility substations. The system will provide a standard, non-proprietary, and scalable approach to energy storage."

"Many Americans will likely someday rely in part on battery systems to power their appliances and cars, store electricity generated by their solar PV panels, and help regulate the frequency and efficiency of the overall power grid. By setting aggressive targets, reducing the barriers to entry, and providing long-term funding, California has incentivized the development of battery storage systems. If these programs prove successful in California, other states could begin offering similar incentives in the coming years."

"California has essentially jump-started the renewable energy storage market in North America with its requirement that the big three public utilities in the state deploy a total of 1.325 GW of grid storage capacity by 2024." Article also discusses various battery storage technologies.

"After operating on the sidelines for years, the energy storage sector is finally poised to begin making its mark, driven by greater policy support and technological advances that have begun making new solutions economic."

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The Energy Newsbriefs Blog is a continuation of the weekly Energy Newsbriefs. Please bookmark this site and return frequently. Although we will not be accepting comments from within the Blog, we would be happy to hear from you by email at library@energy.wsu.edu